The Plastiki: The Most Ambitious Recycling Project Ever

By The Inside Source
November 17, 2010

Jo Royle What's the biggest recycling project you have ever undertaken? Personally, I've re-worked dumpster-destined bookcases, lamps, tattered textiles, and even my grandfather's rusted World War II-era toolbox (I painted it gold; I am sure his comrades would have loved that.) On a daily-basis I try to minimize my waste output by reducing what I accumulate and recycling everything I can.

The team behind the Plastiki, however, takes reduce, reuse and recycle to the next level. The Plastiki is a sailboat crafted almost entirely out of 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles and other recycled goods. Large enough for six crew members, the boat made of plastic bottles sailed nearly 10,000 miles this past spring during a 5-month period, from San Francisco to Sydney, all in the name of rethinking how we view and create waste. (Left: Plastiki Skipper Jo Royle)

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The Plastiki
Photo Credit: All photos provided by The Plastiki
The Plastiki at sea
The Plastiki is engineered almost entirely from 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles that provide 68% of the boat's buoyancy.
The Crew
A poster designed by The Plastiki team
Nearing Fiji
Coming up from the deep
The Plastiki in Fiji
The crew arrives in Sydney.

According to the Plastiki team, the mission of the voyage was to highlight the lifecycles of the materials we use in our everyday life. The Plastiki team took a special interest in plastic consumption. According to the Plastiki website, it is estimated that almost all of the marine pollution in the world is comprised of plastic materials. In fact, while least 15 billion pounds of plastic are produced in the U.S. every year, only 1 billion pounds are actually recycled. The Plastiki voyage was not only to articulate the problems of pollution, but also to "inspire action" against them.

We spoke to Jo Royle, the Skipper on the Plastiki crew (and the only woman for most of the journey), about the voyage.

The Inside Source: After four years spent working on the engineering of the Plastiki boat, you left San Francisco Bay on March 20, 2010 to sail across the world. What was your feeling as you pushed off?

Jo Royle: It was incredible to sail out under the Golden Gate Bridge on a boat we had all spent so much time building. The big "unknown" of the journey ahead of us was that half of the crew had never been to sea before! It made the first stage of our Pacific cross, which was quite a long time—40 days—such a raw adventure. It was awesome.

The Inside Source: What was the best thing about being a woman in charge of an all-male crew of newbie sailors on the Plastiki?

Jo Royle: Well, maybe if I had been a man, I wouldn't have been so sympathetic about the seasickness.

The Inside Source: What was a typical day like on a boat made of plastic bottles?

Jo Royle: We run a 24-hour day on board, so every three hours, you are on watch working the boat. The three hours you are off is spent getting the rest you need, washing, writing articles, reading, or maybe even wasting time. But this is all only if you were lucky. On average every three days, we had a problem, such as a sail blowing out, which would prevent some of us from sleeping for that day. Then you spend the following days on catch-up. No day is ever the same at sea; you are simply responding to Mother Nature's forces as fast as you can. This is why the jobs addictive and I keep going back. You will never master the ocean; she will always surprise you with a new challenge. But it makes you feel so alive!

The Inside Source: You were on the Plastiki for nearly five straight months, with not a lot of space to hoard too much stuff. What was something you had with you that you couldn't have lived without?

Jo Royle: A pressure cooker, which we cooked nearly every dinner in. In fact, we are big fans of the revival of the pressure cooker! Everyone had to have a utility knife on them at all times in case they got tangled up in ropes. Other people had must-have items like gummy candy or chocolate. Everyone has their own thing!

The Inside Source: What was your most awe-inspiring moment while out at sea?

Jo Royle: Seeing a moonbow! A rainbow of the moon. It is really tricky to pick one moment in nearly five months at sea, but this is one night that springs to mind.

The Inside Source: Everything on the boat was recycled. Where did you find all of these recycled parts?

Jo Royle: We actually used eBay quite a bit to search for items for the boat. In the end, many of our parts were donated. However, we did buy the odd boat part from eBay, such as a winch handle and the cooker!

The Inside Source: And finally, what was your feeling when you ended the Plastiki voyage in Australia?

Jo Royle: Mixed. I was sad to be leaving the Plastiki behind. You develop such a relationship with a boat that has carried you so far—especially one so quirky. I was also excited about putting together the next mission, using all the things we had learned on the Plastiki. After 128 days of thinking continually about the boat, the weather and the crew, it was nice to have some free mind space—and to party with my mates.

Plastiki found some of their technical boat parts by shopping on eBay. For you land lovers out there, we've found some recycled, re-used, and vintage nautical and décor items to make you feel like you're on your own sea adventure. We also found that, in the spirit of the Plastiki, nautical-themed goods are trending on eBay. Sales for items with the term "nautical" in the listing are 8% here in a recent week compared to a week-long period a month prior.